Sugar Rush: A Taste Of What Could Have Been
by Superficial Mycosis
Summary: A look into how the series could have continued if Sugar hadn't been locked up.


**Authors Notes:**

_**"Do you ever wonder what would have happened between us if you hadn't gone away?"**_

**This is the question Kim poses to Sugar in the last episode of Season 2, and is also what inspired me to write this. It starts where Season 1 left off and is basically an alternative Season 2.**

**This is my first attempting at writing fan fiction, and I shall try to keep this going.  
Thank you.**

* * *

There was silence at the dinner table that night, just as there had been for the past few nights.  
You see, one week previous, Kim and her best friend Sugar had gone pick pocketing and ran away to a fancy hotel where the two spent the night together. Kim still smiled every time she thought of it, but at the dinner table her smiles were quickly glared down by her father, Nathan, and it was all she could do to shovel in more mash potatoes in an attempt to hide her feelings.  
Sitting next to Kim at the table was her brother, Matt, who hadn't actually eaten any of his meal and was instead trying to shape his food into some sort of alien being. Opposite Kim was her mother, Stella, who had given up trying to lighten the mood at dinner times with small talk and simply made a point of smiling at anyone who looked her way. This mostly meant that everyone desperately avoided eye contact with her, but at least she was making some effort.

Stella had decided not to move out after Kim's disappearance and was going to make another attempt at rebuilding her and Nathan's marriage after the raunchy affair she'd had with the decorator earlier that year. So far, however, their relationship hadn't improved at all due to Nathan's foul mood and so she had gone back to being a bit of a spare part around the house.

Matt hadn't spoken a word since the incident, but this was far from the oddest thing he'd ever done so no one was particularly worried.

Nathan was struggling not to snap at someone every time he opened his mouth. He'd already suffered one nervous break down that year and Kim's recent behaviour had just about tipped him over the edge. He was normally the mellower, more responsible parent. The one Kim would go to if she needed comforting, the one who would sit Matt down and try to make sense of his odd behaviour and help him through the obstacles of growing up, but recently he was not at all approachable.

As for Kim, well, she was busy feeding her own paranoia. She'd not seen or heard from Sugar since they parted ways at the Police Station the morning after their grand escapade.

On that morning, after both girls had been questioned by Police, Kim had been let off with a warning, but Sugar's case was a little more complex and the officer had said they would need to contact her again. This was probably because Sugar had stabbed a man on the beach the night before she and Kim had run away together, and although it seemed fairly obvious to Kim that it had been done in self defence as he had been trying to rape Sugar, this did make her offences a little more serious and so they would need looking into further.  
The two girls were fairly pleased with the result though, and were both laughing and joking as they walked into the Station's main reception area. This was, in Kim's case at least, until they saw Stella and Nathan waiting for them.  
Stella was in floods of tears, though it seemed likely these tears were fake. She was quite skilled at turning on the water works just when it suited her. She ran towards Kim, wailing dramatically as she embraced her only daughter. Her makeup streaming down her face, making her look a little frightening as she dashed across the dimly lit room.

Kim gave Sugar a nervous smile over her mother's shoulder as she endured the crushing embrace, and Sugar responded with a giggle.

It was a good couple of minutes before the tipsy woman loosened her grip.

"What's up with him?" Sugar asked, causing Kim and Stella to look round at Nathan, who was standing near the door with a face like thunder. He was obviously making a huge effort not to look at the girls or say anything, and wanted nothing more than to leave.  
"Oh, he's just sulking, as usual." Stella replied, rolling her eyes and finishing her sentence with a loud tut. "You know what he's like."  
This announcement was met with a muffled growl from Nathan, who, without a word, turned and marched out of the building, preferring to wait in the car.  
"That's quite a big sulk." Kim laughed nervously, trying not to think of how awkward the drive home was going to be.  
"I'll go and see if I can calm him down." Stella announced cheerily, winking at the girls before shuffling out of the Police Station, though not before she'd eyed up one of the on duty officers.

"Nathan's too soft to stay angry with you."  
Sugar's comforting voice enveloped Kim like a blanket.  
"I guess." She replied, sounding a little distant. After a moments pause, she spoke again. "What now?"  
"Well, now you go home and sweet talk Nathan into forgiving you. Then you can come and tell me how right I was." She grinned.  
Kim smiled back, but only for a moment.  
"No, I mean, what now for us?"  
Sugar bit her lip and looked at the floor nervously, before shrugging. Kim sighed, she'd not wanted their night together to be a one off, but perhaps it was naïve of her to have believed Sugar had changed. She turned to leave, cursing herself under her breath for following Sugar into yet another situation and trying to stop her eyes from welling up.  
She took only one step before Sugar lent forward and grabbed her hand. Kim turned and watched expectantly as her best friend's lip trembled, but Sugar couldn't bring herself to speak. As Kim looked up she noticed those deep, chocolate eyes she'd lost herself in countless times were now gazing back at her.  
"I..."  
Kim smiled and squeezed Sugar's hand, letting her know she didn't have to force herself to speak. She understood.  
"See you then." She chuckled, and with that, Kim walked out, leaving the love of her life standing in the Police Station so she could return, for the time being at least, to her screwed up family.

The silence was abruptly shattered by the loud ringing of a telephone, causing an already on edge Nathan to jump and send his peas flying half way across the room.  
He grumbled incoherently to himself and brushed his hands against his face as Stella leapt up from the table to answer the phone.  
Kim sat in silence, inspecting her meal until Stella returned to the table with a big grin on her face.

"Well." She announced proudly, as if answering the phone were now an Olympic event in which she'd just won gold. "You'll never guess who that was."  
The mother of two's eager eyes were met with silent sulks.  
"Well, come on!"  
The sound of forks scraping idly against plates were all she got in response.  
"Oh fine then." She cried in exasperation. "That was Sandra, from the job agency."  
She waited in anticipation for some sort of applause, or at least acknowledgment.  
"I have a job interview!" She squeaked excitedly, grinning from ear to ear.  
There was an awkward pause before Kim decided one of them should make an effort to sound excited.  
"That's great" She said, trying to sound enthusiastic "what for?"  
"Well…" Stella started, blushing as she spoke. "I don't actually know."  
With that, the awkward silence was resumed as Kim couldn't find a positive reply to her mother's lack of information. How do you manage to apply for a job without even knowing what it is?  
Stella gave up at this point and sat down, though not without a loud huff. They'd be proud of her once she got the job and was finally being useful. She was sure this could only be a step in the right direction and she was pleased with herself, even if no one else was.


End file.
